Tie-plate.



E. D. SWIFT. TIE PLATE. APPLICATION FILED Nov. 23. I9I6.

l ,@Ww Patented Nov. 27, 191?. @d V EUGENE D. SWIFT, OF CHICAGO, LLINOIS.

TIE-PLATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 23, 1916. Serial No. 132,963.

To all whom it may concern:-

` Be it known that l, EUGENE D. SWIFT a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of lllinois, have invented a certain new and useful lmprovement in Tie-Plates, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and eX- act description.

My invention `relates to improvements in tie plates.

The following objects of the invention may be mentioned as among the more important ones: to provide an improvedtie plate having a jaw or clip which tits over both sides of the rail base to maintain a positive hold thereon; to provide a device of this character which may be conveniently applied to the rail; to provide a device which effectively resists the tendency of the rail to overturn; to provide a tie plate which is substantially noiseless; to provide a tie plate of two part construction so located on the tie as to provide a better seat for the rail than the usual one part construction; to provide a tie plate `of this character which may be made from steel by a rolling operation; and to provide a tie plate of generally simplified construction and increased effectiveness.

ln the accompanying drawings l have illustrated one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 1 is a top plan View thereof.` y

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

The tie plate, as illustrated herein, is preferably of two part construction; in other words, it consists of two narrow tie plates which are placed side by side on the tie and are used conjointly to perform the required functions. Each part orindividual tie plate consists of a base or plate 1, havinga clip or jaw 2 integral therewith and shaped to fit over one side of the rail base B. rlfhe ends of said jaws are cut away or rounded as illustrated at il, to facilitate the shearing operation which follows the rolling operation, although where the tie plates are made of malleable iron or other cast metal, the ends of said jaws may be flush with the edges of the plate, if desired.

The opposite side of the rail base is engaged by a spike 5 of the usual construction, driven through an opening 6 in the tie plate, into the tie 7, on which the tie plate rests. Said opening extends slightly under the rail base, as shown in Fig. 2. The opposite end of said tie plate is held down preferably by a screw spike S, passing through an opening 9 in said tie plate. 'l`he metal adjacent to the opening S) affords a [lat seat 10 for the under side of the head of the screw spike. Suitable ribs 1l may be provided on the base of the tie plate adapted to press into the tie to insure a firm anchorage. These ribs may be arranged longitudinally, transversely er in any other known and approved manner.

The two members 1 1 are arranged side by side, as previously stated and may be in contact, although it is preferable to provide a slight clearance between them, as shown in the drawings. rlie effect of said two members is to provide a tie plate which may be of about the usual length and which may be at least as wide as the average tie plate. Each member l may be approximately half the width of the usual tie plate or it may be somewhat narrower. By spacing said members apart however, the effect is obtained of a tie plate wider than the average and one which affords a more enten ded bearing area `for the rail than the average tie plate. Furthermore, tl e seat thus afforded the rail insures a better distribution of the downward pressure caused by the rolling stock.

Another and very important advantage that the members are closely held to the base of the rail, and in addition they are so narrow that they avoid the tilting action which the `average tie plate experiences as the rolling stock passes over the rail. its is well known, the passing of a train` is accompanied by ware-like motion of the rail, the effect of which is to tilt each tie plate upwardly in one direction as the wheels approach the tie and to tilt said tie plates in the opposite direction as the wheel passes beyond the tie. yhis up and down tilting of the tie plate causes a striking of the tie plate against the base of the rail., producing an objectionable noise and extraordinary wear. vWith the present construction, the rail base is so firmly wee ged into the jaw by the ac ion of the spike at the opposite side, that the tie plate cannot have any relative movement with respect to said rail base and furthermore, even in the absence of the jaw, each individual tie plate member is so narrow as to reduce said tilting to a minimum. Any rattling is thereby obviated.

Another important advantage of the pres- Fatented Nov. 2*?, 1917.

ent construction is that the rail base is positively held down on both sides by a clip or jaw which fits over it. In the usual tie plate construction, a shoulder is provided on one side only, the rail being conned between said shoulder and a spike or spikes on the opposite side. Even where it has been proposed heretofore to provide a jaw on one side of the ordinary tie plate, it has not been feasible to hold down the rail base to the other side of the tie plate, and furthermore, it has not been practical to provide jaws on both sides integral with the base, since it would be impossible to apply the tie plate to the rail, except by slipping it over the end. By making the tie plate in two halves however, as in the present construction, and reversing said halves with respect to each other, a jaw is provided on each side of the rail base. A further advantage of this construction is that each part being a duplicate of the other, it is necessary to manufacture only a single form of device.

A further important advantage in the present construction lies in the fact that two screw spikes 8 pass through the tie plate at a sufiicient distance from the central axis of the rail to insure a long leverage, which effectually resists the tendency of the rail to overturn, said overturning being directly prevented by the jaws 2, which partially overlie the rail base. The jaws and screw spikes also effectively prevent spreading of the rails. Furthermore, a. good seat is provided for the screw spike, since the head of the latter is made to bear downwardly against a fiat service parallel to the plane of the tie plate. A fastening' is thus provided in which the head of the spike and its seat on the tie plate are in horizontal planes at right angles to the line of force exerted in driving the screw spike home. Said seat may be made economically, since it is merely a flat surface as distinguished from some of the bosses having conical seats, as in certain prior devices where the screw spike head is intended to rest in part on the head of the top of the rail base, and where the down-- ward force exerted by the screw spike is inclined with respect to the engaging surfaces of the screw spike head and its seat.

An additional and very important advantage of the present construction is that the usual wear of the spikes, due to the thrust and friction developed by the edge of the rail base, is reduced to a minimum. This is due to theV fact that each side of the rail base is held down, not only by the ordinary spike driven into the tie, but by the adjacent jaw and'screw spike on the other of the two members of which the tie plate is composed.

Since the device is of such a construction that it may be rolled, it may be made of steel,` as a result of which breakage is reduced, as compared with a cast construction, y

although if the device should be made of cast metal, the breakage is less than in certain prior devices, in view of the fact that tilting of the rail is prevented.

It is apparent that the invention is not limited to the present disclosure of a two part construction, and that various changes may be made in the details and relative arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A tie-plate consisting of a pair of long narrow members each aio-rdinga seat for the rail, and independently adjustable with respect thereto, each having a jaw thereon,

said jaws being arranged to fit over opposite edges of the rail base, and each having a screw spike opening adjacent the said jaw EUGENE D. SWIFT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

